


There's Something About You (That Makes The Skies Blue)

by elrondjolras



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-25 09:03:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7526644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrondjolras/pseuds/elrondjolras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five things Merlin gives Arthur (+1 Arthur gives him back)</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's Something About You (That Makes The Skies Blue)

**Author's Note:**

> title from Todrick Hall's "[Color](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y-rZXl1KGU)"

**_1\. Pink_ **

It was Merlin’s turn to get the drinks, and Arthur, being the idiot he was, had told Merlin to “surprise him” when asked what he wanted. It was a stupid decision really, which Arthur should have realized the moment Merlin’s face broke out into a shit-eating grin at Arthur’s answer. He supposed it was completely his fault for being distracted by the way Merlin’s hair was tousled and standing up in ten different directions from running his fingers through it, or by the way Merlin’s eyes shone with laughter and were already slightly glazed from the few rounds of drinks he’d already had.

Lost in his musings, he didn’t notice when Merlin returned, only to be startled to attention when Merlin slid into the booth beside Arthur and pushed towards him a glass of something bubbly, bright, and _pink_.

“Merlin what the _hell_ is this?” Arthur demanded, looking between the...concoction in front of him and Merlin, who was blatantly failing at hiding his laugh, clearly delighted at Arthur’s reaction.

“Well, you said to surprise you, so… surprise!”

“This isn’t what I _meant_ !” Arthur replied, gingerly picking up the drink and sniffing it. It smelled somewhat fruity and the bubbles tickled his nose. He set it back down firmly and turned back to Merlin. “It’s fizzing. I don’t drink drinks that _fizz_ , Merlin.”

Merlin pouted. “Does that mean you won’t drink it? I got it specially for you.”

Arthur sighed, feeling his resolve slip. He never could deny Merlin anything, especially not when Merlin was batting his eyes at him and biting his lip like that. Not that Arthur would ever tell Merlin. No, he’d never risk making their friendship weird like that - he was more than happy to pine in secret. Not that he was _pining_ , because Arthur didn’t _pine_ of course. But still.

He picked up the pink drink once again and brought it to his lips muttering something along the lines of “Idiot best friends” and “This better not get out to _anybody_.” Then he squeezed his eyes shut and took a large swing of the drink, letting himself believe that the funny feeling in his stomach came from the strange drink, and not from the sound of Merlin’s delighted laughter.

  


**_2\. Green_ **

Of all the things Arthur had expected to see when he answered his door, Merlin holding a tiny cactus was definitely _not_ one of them. Especially since it was nearing 10pm. And Merlin lived on the other side of town.

“I have _so_ many questions right now,” Arthur said, letting him in, “But I think I’ll start with why the fuck do you have a _cactus_?”

“Well,” Merlin replied, heading into Arthur’s kitchen, “It’s not _my_ cactus, it’s _yours_!”

“I don’t have a cactus, Merlin, you know I don’t keep plants.” Arthur crossed his arms and warily watched Merlin place the little green cactus on Arthur’s counter, right beside his coffee machine.

“Now you do!” Merlin said, turning with a flourish. Upon seeing Arthur’s face, however, his grin turned sheepish as he explained, “There was an old lady selling them on my way home from work and I couldn’t just pass her by, it would be too mean! So I brought it home but then I thought of you and your boring apartment-”

“My apartment isn’t boring!”

“Yes it is Arthur, look around. There’s not one bit of colour. _Anyways,_ I thought of your boring apartment and figured this would be perfect for you! Look, you don’t even have to water it very often or anything!”

“Fine. Fine!” Arthur conceded, “But did you really have to come now? This couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?”

Merlin blushed at that, and Arthur was so endeared by it that he nearly missed Merlin’s answering “I got excited about giving it to you and didn’t want to wait. I hope you don’t mind, I know it’s late, but I just figured since it’s Saturday tomorrow and you don’t have work…”

Arthur was unable to stop the smile that slipped past his lips. He gestured towards his living room. “Wanna stay for a movie? I was gonna put one on anyway and I can drive you home after.”

Merlin grinned and pushed his way passed Arthur, moving towards Arthur’s DVD collection. “As long as I get to choose!” he said, already reaching for _The Fellowship of the Ring_. Arthur shook his head fondly and settled down on the couch. Merlin joined him soon after, hitting play and curling up next to Arthur, resting his head on Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur then proceeded to spend the next three hours trying desperately not to read too much into the way Merlin seemed to fit perfectly curled into his side, or the way his heart seemed to have been kicked into overdrive the moment Merlin rested his head in the space between Arthur’s neck and shoulder, and hadn’t quite stopped fluttering yet. No matter that this was a first- they usually sat on opposite ends of the couch, their feet tangling together being the most contact they usually had on nights like these - it was late and Merlin was probably tired and didn’t mean anything by it.

As the film came to an end and the credits began to roll, Arthur turned to Merlin, only to find that he had fallen asleep on Arthur’s shoulder, his lips slightly open and fingers tangled in the hem of Arthur’s shirt. Not having the heart to wake him and make him go home, Arthur gently pried Merlin off of him and arranged him in a more comfortable position on the couch, before grabbing a blanket and arranging it over him.

He then made his way to his own bedroom, passing the kitchen and pausing to stop and look at the little cactus in its little brown pot  - a splash of green against the stark white of the rest of the room, and Arthur couldn’t help but think that he would grow to love the little plant - even if for no other reason than because it was a little bit of Merlin in his home.

 

**_3\. Blue_ **

Arthur was at Merlin’s place this time. In fact, all their friends had been, since Merlin had decided it’d been far too long since all of them had gotten together, and insisted on having them all over for dinner that night… which of course equated to ordering several pizzas and eating on Merlin’s living room floor while they shared the latest news, gossip, etc. All in all it had been a great time, and after Gwen and Elyan had said their goodbyes, it was just Arthur who was left.

The two cleared up the mess left behind, an amiable silence between them, and Arthur couldn’t help but revel in the domesticity of it all. After about another hour he made to leave, and was just shrugging on his jacket, when he heard Merlin call out to him. He looked to see Merlin turning towards him from the window, a dismayed look on his face.

“Arthur it’s _pouring_ outside, you can’t go out in that!”

Arthur quickly joined Merlin at the window to see that yes, there was a torrent of rain falling from the sky, and considering he had opted to walk instead of drive to Merlin’s, he was sure to be absolutely soaked by the time he got home.

“Why don’t you stay the night? You’ll get sick if you go out in that.” Merlin said, already moving to make the couch ready for Arthur. Arthur stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“I can’t stay, I have to work tomorrow, remember?” It’s fine, I’m sure I can catch a bus or something home if I leave now.”

Merlin chewed on his lower lip for a bit before nodding and with a quick “Wait here,” he disappeared into his bedroom, re-appearing a minute later with a large blue umbrella. “I know you didn’t bring anything with you,” he said, pressing it into Arthur’s hand, “and it would make me feel a lot better about you going out in that if you took this.”

Arthur took the umbrella more firmly in his hand and reached out to ruffle Merlin’s hair before he did something dumb like kiss him. “Thanks, Merls,” he said, walking towards the door once again. Just as he was opening it it, he heard Merlin call his name again, and turning, was pulled into a tight hug, which Merlin ended almost as soon as he began, and before Arthur could properly react.

“Text me when you get home, okay?” Merlin said, smoothing out Arthur’s jacket and letting his palms rest on Arthur’s chest for a moment before pushing him out the door with a grin.

  


**_4\. Red_ **

December meant Christmas, and this year it was Gwaine’s turn to host the holiday festivities. Determined to upstage Morgana, who had hosted last year, Gwaine had enlisted Merlin’s help in decorating, and so naturally, Merlin insisted that Arthur come along to help as well.

Which is how Arthur found himself tangled in a string of lights in the middle of Gwaine’s living room. Which was beginning to look like Santa had thrown up all over it. Seriously. Merlin was a decorating _freak_ , and while he had sent Gwaine off on an alcohol run for the party that night, Merlin had set to work draping the room in red streamers, tinsel, and a Christmas tree that took up nearly a quarter of the room.

Arthur had been given the task of stringing the lights around the tree, which should have been a relatively simple task that did not end with Arthur being strung up more than the tree was. However, that was the case and Arthur was trying desperately to untangle himself without toppling the whole tree over before Merlin returned from Arthur’s car with the box of tree decorations and found Arthur in his current predicament. Unfortunately, the universe seemed to hate Arthur more than usual today, and Merlin’s voice came lilting into the room, chattering about how lovely the apartment would look by the time they were done, only for his stream of chatter to be replaced by a loud bark of laughter when he finally entered the room and took in Arthur.

Arthur glared at the floor, letting the lights in his hands fall to the floor as Merlin put down the box he was carrying and crossed the room to stand in front of Arthur, visibly holding back a grin as he gave Arthur a once-over before reaching up and beginning to untangle both Arthur and the tree. Arthur stood stock still as Merlin worked, trying not to blush as Merlin’s hands brushed up all over him, until he was completely freed save for a last strand of lights around his neck.

Arthur refused to meet Merlin’s eyes as he reached up and around Arthur’s neck to grip the lights, bringing them almost chest to chest, and instead stared resolutely at the bright red Santa hat Merlin was wearing. Merlin pulled the lights up and over Arthur’s head, freeing him fully, but made no move to step away. Arthur’s breath hitched in his throat as Merlin moved his hands up between them again, but this time went to pull the hat off his head and pull it down on Arthur’s instead.

“You uh.. you were staring at it.” Merlin said, voice pitched low and hands still holding on to the edges of the hat by Arthur’s ears. “Besides,” he continued, “It makes you look… festive. Red is your colour.” And with that, he pulled his hands away from the hat, dragging his fingers slightly along the side of Arthur’s face before abruptly turning and walking back to the forgotten box of tree decorations. “How about you help me with these, and then we’ll do the lights together after?”

Arthur let out a shaky breath and moved to help Merlin, wondering when he had become so completely and utterly fucked.

 

**_5\. Gold_ **

Arthur stood on the balcony gazing out at the city, the sounds of the party muffled through the glass door behind him. Their group was gathered at Gwaine’s place once again - to bring in the New Year this time - and the party was in full swing, with there being less than five minutes till midnight.

Arthur had stepped out about a half hour ago, needing his bit of space and solitude to reflect on the past year before the new one arrived. It was a stupid tradition, he knew, but one he kept unfailingly, year after year. He found that as each passing year seemed to fly by faster than the last, he needed more and more time to spend remembering both the good and bad times of the last year, to re-live them all once more before he shut them away and entered the New Year with a blank slate.

He startled a bit when he heard the door slide open and shut again behind him - his friends all knew better than to interrupt Arthur’s New Years Alone Time; he would join them all later, just as he always did. Arthur turned and saw Merlin approaching him, two flutes of champagne in his hands, the gold liquid sloshing slightly in the glass as Merlin handed one over to Arthur.

“I’m sorry, I know you don’t like being disturbed at this time, but I thought you might like a drink. I’ll leave you now,” he said, patting Arthur’s hand and turning to leave. Before he really knew what he was doing, Arthur reached out and grabbed Merlin’s free wrist, gently tugging him back.

“Stay,” he whispered, and Merlin came to stand by him, taking a sip from his own flute and tugging his wrist from Arthur’s grasp, only to take Arthur’s hand in his properly, entwining their fingers together.

“Is this okay?” Merlin asked, leaning his head on Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur simply responded by letting his head rest atop Merlin’s and taking a sip of his own drink. They stood in silence for a few moments watching the people below, the sounds of partying and city nightlife surrounding them.

Arthur was jolted out of his reverie when a shout from inside announced that the countdown was beginning. By the way Merlin jolted upright, Arthur could tell that he had been just as lost in the moment as Arthur had been.

_Thirty_

Arthur turned towards the door then back to Merlin. “You should go back inside. I wouldn’t want you to miss the countdown because you were out here with me,” he said, turning back away from the party.

_Twenty_

“Arthur,” Merlin said, tugging on Arthur’s arm, “Arthur look at me.”

_Fifteen_

Arthur turned. Merlin was much closer than he had been before. The lights from inside illuminated Merlin’s face, and Arthur could see a drop of champagne stubbornly sitting on his upper lip. Arthur watched, mesmerised, as Merlin’s tongue darted out to lick it away.

_Ten_

Merlin reached up to hook a hand around Arthur’s neck, pulling his head in until their faces were inches apart. Arthur could feel Merlin’s breath on his lips, while he himself had stopped breathing altogether at this point.

_Five_

“Is this okay?” Merlin asked for the second time that night.

_Four_

“Merlin-”

_Three_

“ _Arthur.”_

_Two_

“Yes.”

_One_

Merlin closed the remaining distance between them, covering Arthur’s lips with his own as cheers and fireworks rang out from all around them. He pulled back slightly but Arthur closed in again, pressing kiss after messy kiss to Merlin’s lips, tasting champagne and _Merlin_. His hands grabbed at Merlin’s waist, while Merlin’s hands were tangled in Arthur’s hair, undoing the neat style Arthur had done his hair in earlier that evening.

When they finally pulled apart, Merlin rested their foreheads together and whispered “Happy New Year, Arthur” into the space between them.

Arthur kissed him again.

 

**_+1. Silver_ **

When Arthur woke, it was to kisses being pressed against his jaw and fingers dancing lightly on his chest. He turned his head slightly and pressed his lips in an answering kiss to the top of Merlin’s head. He felt Merlin’s fingers stop their movement and Merlin’s lips curve into a smile against his neck.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said, smiling up at Arthur, his bedhead wild and eyes bright.

“Morning,” Arthur replied, his voice still thick with sleep, “Coffee?”

Merlin laughed and slapped Arthur’s chest lightly. “I should have known that’s the only reason you keep me around.”

“You love me.”

“I do.” Merlin said, placing a quick kiss on Arthur’s cheek before rolling out of bed and heading towards the kitchen.

Arthur lay back and stared at the ceiling. It was mornings like this when he still sometimes couldn’t believe how lucky he was, that his best friend and the love of his life loved him back. They’d been dating about a year, officially, and  Merlin had moved in with him about a month ago, fitting into Arthur’s everyday life like he belonged there. Which, Arthur supposed, he did.

Without giving himself a chance to second guess, he yanked open the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out the little velvet box he’d been hiding there for the last few days. Walking into the kitchen, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit him full force, and he smiled to himself as he heard Merlin pattering around the kitchen, getting two mugs out and talking aimlessly to the little cactus that Arthur still had sitting on his counter.

He slipped his arms around Merlin’s waist from behind and pressed a kiss behind his ear before dropping to one knee and opening up the box. He bit his lip anxiously as he looked up at Merlin, watching for any signs of rejection as Merlin turned, took in Arthur, and gasped, hands flying up to cover his mouth.

“Marry me?” Arthur asked him. His hands were shaking, and he was fighting to keep his voice steady as he continued, “I know this isn’t the ideal way of asking, and I did have something more special planned but. I couldn’t wait. Merlin, you have to know that I love you more than anything, and I-”

Arthur was cut off as Merlin threw himself into Arthur’s arms, kissing him firmly on the mouth and knocking them both back until he was sprawled over Arthur on the floor.

“Yes,” laughed, kissing Arthur again, and again, and again, “Yes I’ll marry you.”

Arthur could see tears in Merlin’s eyes, and to be honest, he felt his own vision blurring a bit as he took the ring from the box and slid it onto Merlin’s finger, the silver band a perfect fit.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on [twitter](https://twitter.com/iscarosaac) and [tumblr](https://stevieroqers.tumblr.com)


End file.
